Back To Luther... and the old (German) Missouri Synod. Below are thoughts, confessions, quotations from a Missouri Synod Lutheran (born 1952) who came back to his old faith... and found more treasures than he knew existed in the training of his youth.
The great Lutheran lineage above: Martin Luther, C.F.W. Walther, Franz Pieper.

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Thursday, May 26, 2016

Schöpffer: beaten down, rises again; Copernicanism, Part 18e

This continues from Part 18d, a series on Copernicanism and Geocentricity (see Intro & Contents in Part 1) in response to a letter from a young person ("Josh") who asked if I believed Geocentricity ... and did not ridicule me in his question.

When I had returned at Easter 1855 from Göttingen to Quedlinburg, I started to process the rich collections which I had invested in Göttingen. However, as these collections referred to very different sciences, and the processing of a complete work on a reform of astronomy could not be completed as fast as the impatience of my friends wished, so I tentatively put together the most important of my observations and research in a brochure under the title Der Schein der Wahrheit [The Appearance of Truth] in 1855 by Oehme and Müller in Braunschweig. Then in 1856 followed a more complete work entitled: Uranos. Populäre Vorlesungen über Sternkunde [Uranus. Popular Lectures on Astronomy] which experienced three editions, but is now fully sold out.

I wanted to conclude my work with Uranos [Google Books], because, I confess, the continuing mockery, the continuing attacks of my opponents wearied me. Indeed, one seemed to wage a war of destruction against me.Whatever I[page 18]undertook, it was thwarted as I was made to look ridiculous as the one who indeed maintained that the earth stands still. It was most outrageous that a Dr. Robert Giseke, who edited at that time the Novellen-Zeitung, in this newspaper whose staff I was on, sought a special request of the publisher to make a fool of me. A reply that I sent was no exception. I was now forced to cover my literary livelihood with the greatest secret, if I did not want to see myself slandered with my publishers and my work made to be seen as ridiculous to the world. My Garden Encyclopedia appearing in Arnoldi Publishers-Booksellers in Leipzig, which even the sternest judges of such works, the imperial Garden Director ruler in Petersburg, had declared a masterpiece, I had to publish under the pseudonym Dietrich. [L.F. Dietrich] When Payne in Leipzig, in recognition of my knowledge, my industriousness and my diligence, wanted to transfer me to the editorship of a scientific journal, men of whom I never expected this, such as Professor Maßmann in Berlin, declared that he would not provide contributions to a journal edited by me. Another publisher, Albert Hoffmann in Leipzig wanted to transfer to me the editorship of a patriotic weekly paper; but immediately resounded through all the magazines the remark: "I was the one who maintained that the earth stood still," and that was enough to make even dignified men suspicious and looked at me as a fool. Of course, the intended enterprise was thus made impossible. And so it went on and on.

The Royal Prussian Minister of Education Herr [Friedrich Ludwig Georg] von Raumer had said to me: "One is afraid of you!" And indeed probably the fear of me had to be great, otherwise they would not have sought with such zeal to make it impossible for me. Yet in [January] 1866, after I had for ten years no longer grieved myself with astronomical matters, the famous astronomer Mädler poured out his bile against me in Westermanns Monatshefte (pgs 376-381). I wrote a reply, but received it back with the remark that the [page 19] editors could not take anything away from one of its most esteemed collaborators. So I was attacked everywhere and nowhere was I permitted to defend myself.

Then the well known dispute broke out between Pastor Knak and Preacher Lisco in Berlin. Soon I received letters from various sides, my name was again mentioned in the newspapers, Sacco's successors allowed, even without my knowledge or consent, the reissue of my long outdated first workDie Erde steht fest [or “The Earth Stands Fast”, 1868 7th edition]. Now I could no longer refuse the publisher to edit with him an extract from the work of my out-of-print "Uranus", which should be printed as an inexpensive popular edition, but I also decided at the same time, because I was again drawn forcefully onto the stage,so to speak, to swap my previous role of a sufferer with that of an attacker. And as such I step onto this stage from now on: I will with God’s help attack all superstition of this century, I will draw the charlatanism of our time, where I meet her, to the light.

Let me repeat Schöpffer's courageous cry:

“And as such I step onto this stage from now on: I will with God’s help attack all superstition of this century, I will draw out the charlatanism of our time, where I meet her, to the light.” — Dr. Carl Schöpffer

Schöpffer had been beaten down, wearied from attacks and ridicule, by a famous astronomer Mädler no less, – a war of so-called "science" against science – driven to use only a pseudo-name for his subsequent science publications. Ah, but God had more in mind for Dr. Schöpffer and pulled him back out “onto the stage”... but how did God do it? He did it by the 1868 public confession of Pastor Gustav Knak who stated

“Yes! that I believe; I know of no other world view than that of the Holy Scriptures.”

Somehow I knew that old Missouri could not ignore one so prominent in Germany who defended against Copernicanism, another one besides Pastor Knak. So I decided to do a search of Missouri's periodicals from that period... and voilà! In 1871, there was a notice in the theological journal of old Missouri on Schöpffer's book, and I found the tie between Walther and Schöpffer. The old (German) Missouri Synod in St. Louis Missouri, America said: "Amen!" to Schöpffer in Germany... in Part 18f.

About Me

I was born into the Missouri Synod of the Lutheran Church in 1952. After largely throwing off my Christian faith in my youth, the Lord showed me back by his Word. He also showed me the wealth of true teaching in the old (German) Missouri Synod. Hence the above pseudo-name I have chosen.
You may contact me via email postmaster @ franzpieper.com